Listen to this song.

This song is available on Alan Riva and Karin Howard's
"Exploring Language Through Song and Play"


LITTLE TURTLE ACTIVITIES
This little turtle is very expressive. He has a feeling or thought and he uses his verbal skills to make himself known. During this song you can cup one hand over the other to form an image of a turtle. Use your pointer finger and middle finger of your lower hand as a mouth to help the turtle express himself. At times children can get very frustrated when they know what they want but are unable to express themselves. This frustration is okay to a certain extent but we want to make sure that the overall interaction is a positive one. Since frustration usually occurs because of limitations with expressive language its okay to let children know that you understand, e.g., “Oh, by pointing to the refrigerator you are telling me that you are hungry. Let’s get you something to eat.” Thus the frustration can be reduced. At the same time, make sure you keep in mind to allow a little time before you meet the needs or express understanding to let the child “practice” him/herself. Although this may bring about frustration, this allows the child to explore and develop his/her expressive language. This can be quite a balancing act; you know the child best ad will find what is appropriate.

Many thanks to Alan Riva for permission to display these lyric excerpts.
©Alan Riva. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Exploring Language
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